To Everyone
THANK YOU

Just to clarify things, I decided to bring the attempt to an end at about 10.30 last night, so the record is well and truly broken but not by as far as I was aiming. However it’s still a world record at 74ish hours (I will confirm all the times when it has been officially counted up and agreed).

As usual I will be completely honest and up front about what happened, so I won't hide the fact that my decision to bring it to an end was mainly based on health grounds. During Wednesday afternoon I had something of a mental breakdown, it was extremely scary for me and even worse for friends and family who witnessed it, I was fine one minute then all of a sudden I didn't know where I was or what I was there for, people obviously explained what I was doing, but even so it was something I could not comprehend at all. I even had to be taught how to play poker-Literally everything from scratch. I complained that the blinds were not necessary and that there should be a flexible amount of community cards and that the game was too linear so should be played in a circle. Following that I felt like I was in a cage being taunted tortured and punished for a crime I didn't commit. Kay and all my best friends were all there, all trying to help by saying and doing the right things but they were powerless. The medical staff who were present were obviously also very worried  wanted to call it off, but with the record so very near and with my forthright insistence to them that it should stop over my dead body they agreed to closely monitor me and my mental state. (my pulse actually slowed to its normal 75-80 bps to 55-60). Part Of me (the sane part) knew what I was doing but seemed powerless and as if i was looking in from the outside of me, the other part of me wanted to switch off and die. After a while with the help of many others I staged the situation I was in before the breakdown, same dealer, same opponent witnesses and seating position. I was instructed step by step what to do while playing including being to told to pick up the 2 cards to see how good they were, when I did I then wanted to know what was a good and bad card so spent 5 mins or so showing the cards to every one for their opinion...I honestly had no idea what-so-ever.

 Slowly though the clogs in my brain started to slip back in to place and bit by bit i came back to a sane consciousness and eventually to most people present I appeared to be completely back to normal, however I wasn't and I knew I wasn’t, I had just suppressed it to allow everyone to enjoy their build up to record being broken, the subsequent celebrations and mostly to ease their to ease their worries. When the record was broken I carried on as long as I felt safe in my own mind to do so. So with my priority being family and friends I decide to stop to the clear relief and celebrations of everyone who was there.

So anyway, there is a massive amount of information that needs to be compiled including witness statements, handover sheets, record log, match account details, video footage and even card by card hand details. When I have gone through the latter I will give you all the statistics (although I am slightly nervous about that lol). As promised I will also give all the detailed accounts of the funds raised for the charities.

Finally I want to say a massive massive thank you to everyone who got involved, especially John Casper Hussey who gave up all of his summer school holiday (from teaching) to design and build the site. Also (far to many to name in person) all the witnesses, stewards, dealers and support staff who worked around the clock prior and during the event-some of who event took annual leave to be able to help. The players who came and paid their money to play -none of which wanted anything in return even if they beat me, fantastic and very generous thank you.  I also want thank Dom and his fantastic staff at the Library bar, you are a legend mate. The Wednesday morning guys (you all know who you are) who sang joked and drank their encouragement when I was at my most tired and finally of course my lovely partner Kay who has done so much in every way to help but has also had to suffer the consequences of my stressful periods, thank you sweetheart.
Dave ‘Alfa’ Cain
World Record Holder

PS. There is a celebration party at the Library bar TONIGHT with many local bands playing, everyone is welcome to attend.

Okay folks, Guy here, so far Dave has done 73 hrs 20 mins, so lets all give him a big raptuous round of applause

Listen people, he needs dealers ND players throughout the night, we're in the final throws now, we also need witnesses but they're a bit more stringent, u can't have done  and you can't subsequently do any thing else

my tel is 07788662420, if u can help push the record glad to hear from you

Should of said - hanging on in there

Lol - sleep depravation!

Hay guys, presty from LPPL here.  Alfa is hanging there! record not  far away and no major issues at the moment.

Dave says thanks for all the support

Just a quick update between games. Live feed should be up and running ok now..please let us know if not.
EVERY hand is being recorded, so  full details will follow.

Sorry we haven't been keeping you informed the internet has been down for sometime in the Library Bar.
With 34 hours tucked under his wing, Alfa is feeling refreshed after a half hour break. I've never seen him spend so many hours in a pub without a drink lol. Players have been very supportive of the charities if they have beaten him by donating their winnings to the 2 hospice charities. Anyone wishing to donate can do so via the website.
To keep track of him he is on GMTV today, The Lincolnshire Echo tonight and every evening doing updates on Sky Poker channel 865 - The Club.
Kay 'Leisure Princess'- Alfa's partner
 

Thanks James
Dave says he will be happy if he can do as well as you did he will be happy and its a shame you can't be here with him

Thanks for all your support guys n gals. Dave doing ok, Although its very early days yet, he is in high spirits. The Library bar is a 24 hour bar so it's busy and there is plenty of banter to keep him entertained. Keep the post coming we are reading them all out to him.

Just 10 hours until the attempt starts now, so I would just like to thank everybody who has worked so hard over the past couple of months to try and make this a success..hopefully I wont those people down.

The schedule is looking pretty good but its still not too late if anybody wants to get involved.

Sorry to those who tuned in to watch the club last night, the programme is to be shown tonight at 8.30pm.

Just a quick update of how preparations are going. It is now only 10 days 7hours 35minutes (gulp) to go to the start of the attempt. Thankfully the schedule is filling up with people wishing to play, and other volunteering their services as dealers, witnesses and stewards, in addition we have lots of people saying they will be on the reserve list and just a phone call away if last minute help is required, so thank you to all who are getting involved. However there is a massive shortfall of medical help, without medical cover the attempt just can’t happen, please if you are a practicing nurse or doctor or know of someone who is and can spare a few hours of their valuable time get in contact as soon as possible.

Personal preparations are also going well, over the weekend I deprived myself of 2 consecutive nights of sleep and apart from the obvious bags under the eyes it was without too much suffering.

Several poker magazines are now covering the attempt as are local press and some licence trade publications which will also raise the profile for the charities. SkyPoker channel have also been a great supporter, I was invited down to their studios yesterday to take part in their ‘The Club’ programme as well as their 5 minute questions and answers programme. The Club will be shown on Skypoker (865) tonight (Thursday 4th) at 9.30pm (and then repeated a few times over the next week), I am hoping I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself, but much more importantly, that the profile and subsequent donations to the 2 charities greatly benefit.

To improve the openness and effectiveness of the fundraising there is now a dedicated bank account for the attempt, so those wishing to donate by cheque please make them payable to PokerPlayingMarathon.

There will be another update in a few days, hopefully also with news and coverage of the ‘dress-rehearsal’ that is planned for the weekend. Thanks again to all.

Sort your barnet out!!

lol don't worry it will be sorted shortly....but will certainly be back to being more noticeable.....

Very best of luck, this is what I call a challenge. I attempted a three-day poker marathon of sorts in Vegas without sleep but with regular breaks in between. Closing in the second day my head turned to mush and I was running about my hotel room doing handstands and cartwheels   

Out of curiosity will the play always be heads-up or will you be hoping to encourage full ring games? This would make the challenge a whole lot easier plus you have got the added bonus of getting a couple of cheeky micro-sleeps in between hands.

Tank is correct all the games will be heads-up, I looked into playing stt's however I figured it was almost unworkable, eg what happens If i am knocked out first (which will become increasingly likely towards the end lol)? it would mean I am no longer playing poker and subsequently the attempt is over. With heads up, I can almost immediately start a new game.

Many people have asked how I am preparing; well I started a while back by embarking on a healthy eating and fitness campaign. I am eating low fat, low sugar, lots of fruit and veg and food days are rotating with high carb' high fibre and lots and lots of fluids (water). I am also trying to cut down on alcohol intake. During the attempt I will continue with the health eating and despite having red bull as one of the sponsors, I will be leaving out the vodka to go with it, as I won’t be drinking alcohol at all until Wednesday evening which is when the record is broken..from then on its party time!!

It would probably make sense to also try and quit smoking to, particularly as I won't be able to smoke while playing (unless we move the table and equipment outside at certain times) but to be honest I feel I have enough to concentrate on at the moment, and I do have one of those electronic cigarettes that has always served me well on fights to Vegas etc.

As for the exercise I am just doing things like sit-ups, press ups and general flexibility workouts with the odd bit of cycling and when at the gym cross trainer work and rowing. I am hoping this will build up stamina as opposed to muscle.

The training for the lack of sleep is going to be the key issue, many have jokingly commented that I am crazy enough and that staying awake for days on end is something that I have done lots of times in the past...well to be honest it is lol. I have quite often been awake and active for days on end partying, playing poker or just up drinking and hanging out with friends, but the record attempt will be in entirely different circumstances and if I'm honest will also become quite boring at times. However, I will be adjusting sleep patterns on the build up to the attempt by skipping nights of sleep and continuing on as long as possible, I am hoping that by doing so it won’t be such a shock to my body when doing the record.

During the attempt I am allowed to take breaks, I am allowed 5 minutes for every full hour of play, these 5 minutes can also be accumulated up, so for example if I play for 6 straight hours I can take 30 minutes break. Comfort breaks are counted as breaks too so I will probably try and do something like 3 hours with 15 mins’ break then 6 hours with then a 30 min break and in the 30 min breaks I will shower and change and get some fresh air...or maybe even a quick swim in the marina which is next to the library bar that’s certain to wake me up! Thankfully I am allowed to eat while playing, so there shouldn’t be any issues with having to rush down food.

We will be carrying out a 'dress rehearsal' on the 3rd of September to get things like the table, seating and camera positions all sorted out, as well as testing the bandwidth speed for the video streaming etc. The dress rehearsal will commence at about 4pm and run on until we are happy with everything, so your comments on how it comes across will be gratefully received.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Many Many thanks for your support and comments guys, I can assure you I have not taken this on lightly and have spent nearly 6 months preparing for this.

Please don't forget I am not just seeking players for this, but also the very important positions of witnesses, stewards and medical supervision, so if anyone can help out with these please use mail through the site at http://www.pokerplayingmarathon.com/schedule.html.

Apologies to those who tried to book slots last night the booking form was showing an error. It has now been punished severely and is behaving again.

Many Many thanks for your support and comments guys, I can assure you I have not taken this on lightly and have spent nearly 6 months preparing for this.

Please don't forget I am not just seeking players for this, but also the very important positions of witnesses, stewards and medical supervision, so if anyone can help out with these please use mail through the site at http://www.pokerplayingmarathon.com/schedule.html.